Identity Crises
by BlueSuedeShoes
Summary: Chloe couldn't imagine how her life took this turn, but she was having a love affair with the Green Arrow. Maybe all she needed in her life was a little excitement. Now if that jerk Oliver Queen would just leave her alone. rated M for strong adult content
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Comment: Well, according to popular demand, I'm giving a shot at a slightly longer Chlollie piece. I'm not sure how this will go. Bear with me, too, because this is definitely not coinciding with Smallville. In this world, Chloe has never met Oliver Queen, and she is completely uninvolved with the JL.**

**I hope this is well-received.**

--1--

Chloe Sullivan could count on one hand the things about her life she was satisfied with. Her cousin was her best friend. Her cousin was finally dating her best friend Clark, and they were pretty much soul mates. She liked her apartment fairly well. Her most recent hair cut really suited her.

...That was about it. And sadly enough, the first two items had more to do with Lois's life than hers.

The list of things she wanted to change? That one went on for miles. She'd quit her job at the Daily Planet, and she had a feeling that if she ever ran into her sixteen year old self, the younger version of her would be forced to kick her butt. Instead she was house-sitting the Isis Foundation for her mysteriously MIA friend from high school, Lana. It was good work, and she liked it, but at the same time, she just felt like it wasn't her place in the world. She'd been so devoted to becoming a journalist for as long as she could remember and somehow she'd just walked away from it forever, something that still shocked her.

And of course the Lois and Clark thing: as happy as she was for her cousin and friend...it still stung in its own way. Clark had been her first love, and while those feelings were totally gone, she wondered how in the world it was poetically just for him to find the one he was meant to be with while the only men keeping her company through the night was a pint of Ben & Jerry's.

Had she mentioned her best friend was Superman? Most people would think she was crazy to be dissatisfied with having the Man of Steel for a best friend, but Chloe could only think having her own personal superhero didn't really come with many benefits. She frequently found herself wondering why it was that she was doomed to be second to every other woman in his life. Besides that, being Superman's best friend tended to be a thankless task. Not that she would dream of doing it differently. She didn't regret being there for him and helping him whenever she could, but really, once in a while she thought it would be nice to have someone around to actually appreciate her. Clark was a great guy, but she tended to get lost in the shuffle of his life when he didn't need her.

Those were just a few of the major things. She knew she should be grateful. Overall, she had a pretty good life. At least Lois never blew her off for anything, she thought to herself on her way up to her apartment. No, Lois never took her for granted. She smiled to herself as she unlocked her door. At least she had family.

She spotted the light on her phone blinking. Walking over she pressed play and then went to rummage through the fridge.

"Three New Messages" said the electronic voice. Chloe glanced up surprised.

"Really?"

"First Message: Hey, Chlo," she heard Lois's voice. "Don't hate me, okay. I know I promised you tonight was going to be our girl's night, but--"

"Don't say it, Lo," Chloe said to her answering machine, looking at it pleadingly.

"--Clark got tickets to a truck rally and you know how much I love monster trucks. _Please_ don't hate me, cuz. We'll reschedule I promise!"

Chloe slumped to the floor in front of her fridge, holding a tupperware of leftover spaghetti in her hands. She groaned. What had she been thinking about family always being there? she thought bitterly to herself.

The next message came on. "Chloe? It's me again." Chloe rolled her eyes, standing up. "I need a major favor. You're actually going to love me for this one--"

"Oh am I?" Chloe arched a brow.

"--Since I'm going out with Clark tonight, I was hoping you could cover an event for me tonight."

"Oh jeez," Chloe whined.

"Don't groan. It's the mayor's ball, and we both know you're secretly dying to go just like every other Cinderella out there. Please, please, pleeeeaaaase?"

"Fine," she muttered. "Just shut up."

"Thanks, cuz!" Lois's voice said, as though she had heard Chloe's response. "You're the absolute best. I'll make sure your name goes on the article!"

She poured the spaghetti into a bowl and stuck it in the microwave and started reheating it.

"Third Message: Hey me again! Last time I promise!"

"Seriously, Lo?" Chloe looked at her machine as though she didn't believe it.

"I just wanted to let you know you can definitely go for a raid in my closet if you need to borrow anything to wear tonight. Help yourself. Press pass is there, too. You know where the key is!"

The machine beeped to let her know the last of the messages was over. Chloe sighed. So much for staying in and wearing sweatpants and watching movies and eating junk food. Now she had to shower and fix her hair and makeup and figure out what she was going to wear, just so she could go to a stuffy gala and make a list of which "Who's Who"s were there.

She thought seriously about blowing it off. After all, Lois had bailed on her. Why should she do her any favors?

And yet, she knew she wouldn't. Maybe she was too nice for her own good, or maybe she was just being reasonable. Or maybe Lois was right and her inner Cinderella really did want to go to the ball.

She checked the clock. Yeah, she had time to make herself look reasonably decent. Fine, she would go.

She finished her impromptu dinner and headed for the shower, undressing herself slowly. Piece by piece she removed the clothing from her body, feeling like she was removing the baggage of her day. The broken heel on her favorite shoes. The coffee stain on her blouse from when someone had bumped into her before she'd even taken a sip of her coffee of the day. The stack of bills that had been waiting for her at Isis. The twenty taxis that had blown her off before she'd given up to walk home. Right down to the burnt out refrigerator bulb she'd just discovered.

She stepped in the shower and let the scalding hot water crash down on her, trying to rinse her troubles away. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, contemplating never getting out of the shower. It was nice and safe in here and she didn't have to think about anything. She didn't have to think about how lonely she as, or how tired. She just let each and every muscle in her body relax individually until she felt like jell-o.

She searched through her closet and pulled out the dress she'd once worn to a similar event back when she worked for the paper. Who really cared if it was a fashion faux pas to repeat an outfit? It wasn't like anyone would remember her. And she like the long blue silk dress. It fit her just right (something none of Lois's dresses would do) and she felt..._classy_ in it. The low back made her feel sexy, but the neckline was fairly modest, not showing too much cleavage. It wasn't trendy. It was one of those dresses that would be timeless.

And then there was makeup, and hair curlers, and a spritz of her favorite perfume. And then she had no excuse left to put off leaving any longer.

Not surprisingly, she managed to hail a taxi now that she was in a dress, and even persuaded the driver to stay long enough for her to run up to her cousin's apartment for the press pass.

As she arrived she wondered vaguely whether or not Lois had expected her to cover photos as well, but as soon as she walked into the hotel grand ballroom she spotted an old friend from the paper, Jimmy Olsen, clumsily trying to request people pause for photos. She smiled, considering going over to say hi, but decided not to for the moment. She had all night, and she just didn't feel social at the moment. She wanted a drink, she decided, heading for the bar.

With a bloody mary in her hand she turned and leaned against the bar and scanned the crowd, making her mental list of who was there. She didn't need to write it down. She'd remember it.

When the mayor got up and made his speech she pulled her old tape recorder out and got the whole thing for Lois to quote later.

When it was over and she'd already been through her third drink, she looked around her again. She was seriously considering leaving then, even though it was only 9:30. Maybe she could still watch a movie from the comfort of her own pajamas if she was lucky.

Someone bumped into her as she paid the tab on her drink, and she looked up.

"Sorry," said the man, barely glancing at her.

She frowned at him. Really? She didn't get more than an off-handed apology? This was a lousy night. Then she recognized him. Ah, playboy billionaire Oliver Queen. Right, well, she certainly didn't expect to get a second glance from a man who spent his nights with supermodels and second-rate actresses.

She rolled her eyes and headed out.

Oliver turned, about to offer the girl a drink and blinked. She was gone. Well that was a first. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her on her way out the door.

Well now he was just curious. Who left the mayor's gala before it was even ten o'clock? He was bored as hell and she was providing a source of curiosity if nothing else. Smirking, he headed after her.

When he reached the cool night air, she was nowhere to be found.

Then he heard a scream.


	2. Chapter 2

--2--

Chloe shrieked. All she'd done was _walk past_ a blasted alley, not even down it, she thought bitterly, and someone had reached out and grabbed her, pressing a gun into her back. Where was Clark when she needed him? she wondered desperately. Could this day possibly go any more downhill?

"Why don't you go ahead and take off that jewelry, too, candylips?" the creep said in her ear, pressing the gun a little more firmly into her back after she'd already handed over her clutch

"Why don't you drop the gun before someone gets hurt?" said a deep voice. Chloe and the mugger looked up in surprise. Standing on the roof of the building in front of the name was the silhouette of a figure in a hood, aiming a bow and arrow directly at them.

Chloe gasped. Great, just what she needed. Some weirdo with a Robin Hood fantasy.

The mugger moved the gun to point at the side of her head so it was more clearly visible. "I wouldn't get any ideas, freak," he said, twisting Chloe's arm agonizingly until she cried out in pain.

With a rush of wind, Chloe felt something fly past her ear and the mugger cried out, the arrow having pierced his hand, causing the gun to clatter to the ground. Jeez! What was Errol Flynn over there thinking? He was lucky he hadn't killed one of them!

She seized her opportunity, though, no longer feeling a gun pressed to her she immediately snatched her purse back and took off at a sprint, lifting her skirt to allow it. She managed to make it back to the main street before letting out a frustrated sound. No taxi in sight.

She turned defensively as she heard a rumbling sound and saw someone on a motorcycle approaching her.

He stopped in front of her and she realized it was the archery creep from the roof. He was wearing green leather from head to toe, with a hood and sunglasses that hid his face. She knew it should have been weird, and maybe she was just used to Clark's ridiculous costume, but she couldn't help but think it was kind of sexy. It helped that he was clearly extremely well built, she noted, taking in the well defined muscles on his bare arms and his broad shoulders.

"Need a ride?" he offered cockily, and she realized his deep voice must be altered by some sort of distorter device. It didn't sound quite natural, but it definitely gave her the chills.

She shook her head, quirking an eyebrow. "Look, I appreciate the Robin Hood style rescue and all, but I seriously recommend you get the personality disorder checked out. In fact I can give you the names of several excellent doctors," she added.

He smirked. "Kind of a lousy 'thank you,' don't you think?"

She shrugged. "Forgive me if I've been the damsel in distress a few too many times to really have a thing for knights in shining armor anymore," she said sarcastically. "Besides, for all I know, you're just another homicidal maniac."

He tilted his head to one side, as though getting a better look at her. "Homicidal maniac? I just saved your life."

She just looked at him, arms folded. She wasn't stupid.

"Oh just get on," he said, jerking his head in encouragement. "Something tells me your day can't get much worse if you've got this kind of attitude toward the guy who just came to your rescue."

She raised an eyebrow. Then, almost to her own surprise, she swung a leg over the bike, hiking her skirt up as she did so. "What the heck?" she thought ruefully. "He's got a point. Worst case scenario, I pepper spray him. Best case, I'm put out of my misery."

A satisfied smirk on his face, he revved the engine and told her to hold on. She slid her hands around his stomach and tightened her legs on either side of him. "Where to?" he asked. She gave him the street name and with that he sped off, startling Chloe, who gripped his waist more tightly.

He rounded onto the street after a couple of minutes and she pointed out her building. He pulled to a stop in front of it and she got off immediately, ignoring an imprudent sense of mourning at the loss of being so close to someone for a moment.

To her surprise he got off, too. She was about to make a snarky comment about how he shouldn't expect to get invited up, but before she could he had put an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. Her hands on his chest and her body involuntarily arching back because of the way he held her, she gave him a startled look. He tilted his head to the side, and she couldn't decide whether he was gauging her reaction or just studying her.

She opened her mouth to say something, probably to protest, or scream, or make a sarcastic comment (definitely the most likely of the three), but the words died on her lips when he leaned in and kissed her.

Chloe felt her knees go weak until the only thing really holding her up was his arm around her waist. She couldn't remember a kiss ever being like this. It was...it was..._wow_.

She'd been too surprised to really return the kiss, she just stood there, turning to putty in his hands, knowing somewhere in the back of her head that she should be affronted by this rash attack on her person. Then--and she thought she could feel his reluctance--he pulled away.

"Thought maybe you needed that," he said, and there was no mistaking the arrogance in his voice. "Cheer up, gorgeous," he said. "No need to be so cynical about everything." He got on his bike and was about to drive off before she came back to her senses.

"Who are you?" she asked, frowning.

He opened his mouth and then closed it again. With an almost frustrated tone, he replied, "The Green Arrow." He took off before she could ask anything else, disappearing into the night, leaving Chloe with a dazed feeling.

She raised her fingers to touch her lips, which were still tingling. It had been a long time, _too_ long since any man had kissed her, and she was positive that no one had ever kissed her quite like that.

* * *

Oliver threw back his hood and tossed his sunglasses to the ground. He leaned against the wall of his living room, breathing heavily, and ran a hand anxiously through his hair.

What had he been thinking? Offering her a ride home, sure, but kissing her? He couldn't explain it, but he'd made up his mind to do it without actually thinking about it. This Green Arrow business was getting out of control. It wasn't just a secret identity anymore; it was swiftly becoming a split personality.

Then again, he couldn't really be sure that the Oliver part of him had been protesting either. She wasn't just attractive. It was the way she'd spoken to him, sarcastic and charismatic, practically challenging him to live up to her standards. Both sides of him had been intrigued, but it was the Green Arrow who kissed her. That he was sure of. Because Oliver Queen didn't even know her.

* * *

**Author's Comment: Well, I know it was short, but at least it was exciting, right? lol Don't hate me! I promise to make the next few a little longer.**

**Thanks for all the great reviews on the first chapter!**

**B.S.S.**


	3. Chapter 3

--3--

"Hey, Chlo!" Lois said happily, bursting into Chloe's apartment. Chloe ascertained that her cousin's date with Clark had gone well. How shocking.

"Hi, Lo," she said pleasantly, tossing her a muffin.

"So tell me about the ball last night! Did you have a good time? I'm so sorry for flaking out on you, but we're definitely rescheduling, okay? I--" she stopped, raising an eyebrow. She looked Chloe up and down. "Oh my god, did you get action last night?" she shrilled.

Chloe looked startled. _"What?"_

"You totally have the post-sex glow."

"Oh my gosh, Lois, that's disturbing. Of course not!" Chloe gave her a concerned look before grabbing her mug of coffee and sitting down at the bar. (There was no table in her kitchen.)

"Fine maybe you didn't have sex, but I can tell you met someone. Who was it?" Lois insisted, taking the mug right from Chloe's hand and taking a swig of it herself before returning it to a now disgruntled looking Chloe.

"Oh, I don't know. I just ran into some guy and we kind of flirted a little bit," she said, skirting around the truth of the matter. She didn't think telling her cousin about another masked vigilante in Metropolis was a good idea. Before anyone could say "nosy reporter," Lois would be heading up a man hunt to find and unmask whoever it was, thoroughly convinced that anyone who hid his face was a hoodlum at best. No wonder she was harboring a secret crush on Superman, Chloe thought vaguely.

Lois wasn't going to give up so easily. "Well what did he look like? What was his name?"

"I didn't get a name. But he was...handsome," she concluded. She hadn't seen his face entirely, but he had a strong chin and gorgeous lips that hinted at an attractive face. "Tall, muscular. Sexy voice," she added, grinning inwardly at the private joke.

"Well did you give him your number or anything?" Lois wanted to know.

Chloe gave her an exaggeratedly scandalized look. "Lo, I didn't even know him!"

Lois rolled her eyes. "How do you expect to _get_ to know him?"

Chloe just laughed at her. Maybe in her cousin's world things were that easy, but in Chloe's life, it was just never as simple as that.

* * *

"Ms. Lang?" Oliver asked, walking into the lobby of the Isis foundation. He was addressing a female figure bent over and facing away from. Apparently she'd dropped something. He couldn't help but appreciate the view.

"I'm sorry," said a familiar voice. She straightened up and set a stack of papers on the table in the center of the room. "Lana is out. Indefinitely. Can I do anything f--" she stopped in mild astonishment, having looked up to see none other than Oliver Queen.

Oliver swallowed tightly, trying not to show his own surprise at running into her of all people. _Poker face, Ollie_, he told himself. _Come on_. It didn't escape his attention that she was wearing a green leather jacket.

"--for you?" Chloe finished, getting over her surprise.

Oliver smirked--which she found surprisingly irritating. "Have we met?" he asked.

"I don't think so," she said, a touch coldly.

"Well I'm Oliver Queen," he said, extending a hand for her to shake.

"Chloe Sullivan," she returned, taking his hand.

"Chloe," he repeated. She couldn't help but dislike the way he said her name. "Pleasure to meet you. You said Ms. Lang is out? Do you know when she'll be back? I've been meaning to set up an appointment with her for some time."

Chloe shook her head, returning to the stack of papers she'd set down and bringing them over to a filing cabinet. "I'm sorry I can't help you, but she's taken a leave of absence and I don't know when she plans on returning, if at all," she said, opening the top drawer and starting to file papers. "She left the foundation in my hands. What can I do for you?"

_About a million things I can't say out loud._ "Well I was thinking about making a donation of some sort, but I wanted to know some more about the project before I invest."

She went to the table and grabbed a piece of paper. "Here," she said, handing it to him.

"Huh," he said, looking at it. "A brochure." He grinned at her, leaning against the wall. "I was thinking something more personal. Maybe you could tell me about it over dinner?"

Was he asking her out? _Seriously? _How inappropriate. "I'll save you the indigestion," she said, the corner of her lip quirking slightly. "Why don't you just read the pamphlet? My e-mail's on there if you have any questions."

Oliver grinned. "Scared? Or just anti-social?" he goaded, knowing it would ruffle her feathers.

"Neither," she bristled.

"Busy then?"

"No, I just--"

"Great, where should I pick you up?"

She studied him through suspicious eyes. "I'll meet you somewhere," she relented.

"Fair enough," he said easily. "Why don't I e-mail you the time and place?" he asked, waving the brochure in his hand amusedly.

She nodded curtly. "That will be fine." He didn't make a move to leave, however--just watched her continue to file papers. She looked up irritably. "Something else I can do for you?" she asked.

He grinned. "Nothing. And call me Ollie," he said, turning to go. "By the way, nice jacket," he added from the doorway.

Chloe huffed an annoyed sigh. _Arrogant_, she thought.

* * *

A rush of wind nearly knocked the breath out of Chloe. She wondered vaguely if she'd ever get used to that as she looked up to see Clark standing in the middle of her living room.

"Hi, Clark," she said, smiling.

"Hey, Chloe, I came over to see how you were. I've haven't talked to you in a while, and Lois let slip that I ruined your girl's night with her. I felt kind of bad."

Chloe just looked at him. "Wait, so, there's nothing you need from me?" she asked.

Clark shook his head, confused.

"You just stopped by to say hi?"

He nodded.

"Aw, Clark!" she gushed, throwing her arms around him.

Clark looked baffled. "Girls are weird," he muttered, hugging her back a little awkwardly.

"Clark," she scolded, lightly smacking the back of his head as she released him. "You haven't just 'stopped by to say hi' in over a year."

He looked surprised. "Haven't I?"

She shook her head, laughing.

"Aw, Chlo, I'm sorry," he said, feeling guilty.

"It's okay, Clark. It's just nice to know you thought about me today." She smiled warmly, returning to what she'd been doing when he arrived: applying fresh makeup.

Clark took in her outfit. She was moderately dressed up. "Going somewhere?"

"Mmhmm," she replied, brushing on some light rouge. She didn't sound pleased about it. "I'm having a business dinner with Oliver Queen."

"Of Queen Industries?" Clark frowned. "Wow."

Chloe just rolled her eyes.

"I take it you don't like him."

"He's...I don't know, maybe I'm just being judgmental, but the guy comes off as really egotistical."

"So why are you meeting with him?"

She sighed. "You know, I'm still not sure how I got swindled into it, but regardless, he's considering investing in Isis, and I can't really say no to someone like him."

Clark nodded. "Reasonable, I guess. Well, I hope you have a better time than you're expecting to."


	4. Chapter 4

--4--

Oliver groaned inwardly. This was going..._horribly_. What had he been thinking? As if taking her to a fancy French restaurant was going to impress someone like Chloe. It wasn't as though she didn't like the restaurant or something. It was just that it made him look even more snobby, which was apparently what she had decided he was. No matter how hard he tried to turn the conversation lighter and more personal, she kept turning it back to business.

"You can relax, you know," he told her, amused. "You had me convinced about five minutes into the conversation to invest. I read your little pamphlet, too," he said, eyes laughing at her a bit. "It's fascinating, really. I mean, you guys are taking a step that no one ever has before, trying to help these people. But we _can_ actually talk about something else," he added.

So she complied, making small talk, listening as he talked, but she seemed totally uninterested. What was with this girl? The night was coming to a close, and she seemed as thoroughly unaffected by him as she had that afternoon. It had gone from purely being a matter of ego for Oliver to one of fascination. Desire to prove himself had given birth to determination to prove himself.

When they got up to leave and he took the check, she actually tried to argue. She said it was a business dinner so it was on the foundation. He just rolled his eyes and said, "Really, I've apparently been boring you all night. Least I can do is cover the check."

Chloe felt guilty when he said that. She hadn't meant to be so impolite. "I'm--sorry," she stammered slightly, frowning. "You know," she shook her head and he looked up at her. "I think it's just been a long time since I've been anywhere with anyone other than my cousin. Didn't mean to be so rude," she finished.

Finally! She was human after all! "Hey! Don't apologize! You didn't do anything wrong, I'm just making a bad impression." He grinned at her. "Maybe you can let me make it up to you another time."

She looked at him doubtfully, but said, "Maybe," regardless. "I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other anyway," she added. He helped her into her coat, a surprising gesture. Well, even if he _was_ an arrogant rich boy, at least he had manners.

They left the restaurant and he watched her round the corner, feeling irritated. He didn't want the night to end, especially not on this note.

Suddenly he grinned mischievously. Well, she might not be able to stand Oliver Queen, but she seemed much less repulsed by the Green Arrow.

* * *

"We meet again," said a familiar deep voice.

Chloe jumped, looking behind her. The Green Arrow stepped out of the shadows. She fought a smile. "I have the strange feeling I should either call the cops or pepper spray you. Or both," she added.

He chuckled and she shivered, taking an involuntary step back from him.

He noticed. "You know, you'd probably be a lot less jumpy as a person if you didn't spend so much time walking down dark streets in the middle of the city on your own. Would probably make my job easier, too," he added.

She glared at him, turning around to walk away. He kept up easily. "Your job? You rescued me from _one_ mugger," she said disdainfully.

He smirked. "A mugger with a gun," he reminded her.

She rounded on him. "Is there a reason you're following me?" she demanded.

"I have a feeling the moment I leave you're going to get kidnapped or something," he teased. "Call it a sense of duty."

She rolled her eyes, but he could tell she was secretly enjoying their banter.

"So, what you're telling me," she said, stepping closer to him, her voice becoming seductive, "is that it's purely a _protective_ instinct. Nothing to do with the fact--" she brought her lips close to him, and he could feel several alarm bells going off in his head, "--that you find me..._attractive_," she breathed, tilting her head slightly. Then, in the amount of time it took him to blink, she was a foot away from him again. "How disappointing," she said lightly, laughing at him, and starting to turn away from him again.

"Oh now that's just foul play," he said, grabbing her wrist and wrenching her back to him. Before she could protest he was kissing her again, more passionately than the previous night. This time she kissed him back, too, and he felt a surge of satisfaction. He wondered what it would take for Oliver Queen to get this kind of response out of her, but then he waved the thought away. Who cared?

Chloe broke the kiss first, pulling away from him with a strange look on her face.

"This is weird," she said, stepping back.

He ignored her at first, and moved to kiss her again, but she didn't let him. "Why weird?" asked the distorted voice with a hint of frustration.

"I don't even know you," she said. "_You_ don't even know _me_."

His lips quirked into a sexy grin. "Personally, I think the mystery is a turn on, Miss Sullivan."

She looked startled. "How do you know my name?"

"Reliable sources," he said ambiguously.

She looked at him narrowly. "Well I still don't know a thing about you," she said.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, pulling her back to him.

She took in a faltering breath as his lips moved to her neck. This was _wrong_, she thought wildly. She never did things like this. "How about your real name?"

"Next question," he said, indicating that that information wasn't up for grabs.

"Why the leather?"

"Grew up in a world where I saw the elite trumping the lower classes in every way, sometimes illegally. Robin Hood was my inspiration."

"And here I thought Robin Hood wore tights," she teased, trying to maintain composure as his mouth found a particularly sensitive spot just beneath her ear.

"_Problem_ with the leather?" he asked against her neck.

Chloe shuddered. "Umm...I guess if it's how you get your kicks, who cares what I think?"

"Please," he said, evidently very amused. "Don't pretend you don't think it's hot."

Chloe rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

"Any other questions?" he asked, entertained.

"Yeah. Why are you kissing my neck?"

"Well if I kissed your mouth, you wouldn't be able to ask me the questions that are apparently so vital to you."

She could actually hear the smirk in his voice. "Not what I meant," she said a little grumpily.

He laughed, a deep sexy sound that gave her yet another dose of chills.

"Serious," she muttered darkly.

"Probably because it's very satisfying," he said, grazing his teeth against her ear so that she caught her breath. "You're incredibly attractive when you're nervous," he said, taunting her before actually biting her ear.

"Plan on letting me go home any time soon?" she asked breathlessly.

He smirked again. "Was planning on offering you a ride again if you like," he said.

She could only nod.

* * *

Chloe laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, her heart still thudding in her chest.

What on earth was going on?

Why couldn't she attract normal men?

She snorted. Like she ever gave normal men a second thought in any case. After all, hadn't she managed to single out the class alien for her high school crush?

So naturally she managed to find the one man in a hundred mile radius who had a bizarre fetish for green leather and archery.

Still, whatever was happening, she'd only seen him twice and already she could feel things escalating wildly out of her control. When he was with her...it was like quit operating normally. He'd been in total control both instances whereas all she could really do was...well, _melt_. It was exciting and absolutely terrifying at the same. Since when did she do things like making out with someone whose real name she didn't even know?

Thinking of how discontent she'd felt with her life just the other day, though, she wondered whether that wasn't a good thing.

She made up her mind to ask Clark if he knew anything about the Green Arrow. He would at least be able to tell her whether the guy was some sort of perv or not.

Closing her eyes, she thought she could still feel his hands gripping her waist, his mouth on her neck and she bit her lip. She really, _really_ hoped he wasn't a creepy stalker or sex offender or something like that.

* * *

**Author's Comment: All right, I know there will be several people who think it is ridiculous that Chloe's date with Oliver went so poorly, but just bear with me. Chloe will give him a chance. Promise.**

**B.S.S.**


	5. Chapter 5

**--5--**

The crease in Clark's brow deepened. "The Green Arrow?"

Chloe yawned and nodded. She'd come to see Clark at the Daily Planet under the pretense of bringing Lois the notes she'd taken after the ball the other night. As soon as Lois had run off after a story, Chloe had seized her opportunity to speak with Clark about the Green Arrow alone. Still, she couldn't help but regret leaving the comfort of her bed early. She'd been unable to sleep properly the night before.

"How did you run in with him?" Clark wanted to know. The tone in his voice worried her. Great, maybe the guy really was a lunatic.

"He saved me from a mugger the other night," she answered half-truthfully.

"What?" Clark's eyes widened. "Chloe I'm so sorry, if I'd known--"

"Clark, please," Chloe raised a hand to stop him. "We both know you can't be everywhere, and I was just fine, with particular thanks to this guy's help. I was just curious if you knew anything about him. As in, is he a good witch or a bad witch?" She tried to be humorous about it but Clark still raised a suspicious eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, I've met him. I mean, I'm not going to claim to have a personal relationship with the guy or anything, but we've met."

"And?"

"I don't know. He seems...okay. He's just...got a questionable view of wrong and right. I've seen him rescue a girl from a rapist and bring a lost kid to the police station, but I've also seen him steal a valuable necklace right off someone's throat."

Chloe looked stunned. "He's a thief?"

"That's the thing," Clark said uncomfortably. "The necklace was the one I had you research a couple of months ago."

Chloe frowned for a second and then the light bulb went off. "The one that was sold on the black market, stolen, and then anonymously donated to a charity?"

Clark nodded.

She bit her lip. She suddenly remembered what the Green Arrow had told her the previous night,

_I grew up in a world where I saw the elite trumping the lower classes in every way, sometimes illegally. Robin Hood was my inspiration._

"Rob the rich and give to the poor," she muttered.

"I don't know, Chloe. The guy's not a serial killer or anything, but I'd steer clear of him if I were you. I think he's bad news."

Chloe fought the impulse to roll her eyes. Clark thought every male she'd ever come into contact with was "bad news." Granted, he was frequently right, but in this case, well...it wasn't as though she'd been seeking the Green Arrow out or anything. He seemed to be finding _her_.

"Chloe?"

"What? Oh. Sure, Clark. I won't go looking for trouble. Promise," she said reassuringly. No, she certainly wouldn't _look_ for trouble. If it came to her, well, that was an entirely different matter.

"So how did that dinner thing with Oliver Queen go last night?"

This time Chloe _did_ roll her eyes.

"That bad?" he asked, his eyebrows going up in amusement.

"Well..." Chloe thought calling it 'bad' would be unfair. "It wasn't awful," she conceded. "I mean, I felt kind of bad, honestly. He was trying really hard not to be an ass. The restaurant he picked was very nice and he didn't hesitate to cover the check and he tried really hard to engage me in conversation."

"But?"

Chloe bit her lip. Good point. But what? "It's hard to explain. There's just something about the guy that's really off-putting. Didn't help that I just _couldn't _feel professional around him. It felt like a date."

"Was it?" Clark's voice tensed.

"Oh relax, _dad_," she teased. "Of course not. It just felt like one. A really awkward one."

Clark looked placated.

"Ugh, and I have to see him again today. He's stopping by to iron out the details of his investment."

Clark nodded. "Well, just try to get along with him. No harm in it, right? I mean, this could be really big for the foundation."

Chloe sighed in agreement. "Not to mention the potential networking. The guy has connections around the globe. With his help, Isis could really take off."

* * *

Oliver was thoroughly disgusted with himself. What had come over him the other night? It had been one thing when the Green Arrow had rescued Chloe and things had escalated a bit, but to _seek her out as Arrow?_ He was digging himself a very deep hole. The worst part was when he was Arrow he could feel himself pleased over the fact that Chloe didn't like Oliver Queen. I mean for the love of all things holy, shouldn't he at least be on his own side?

Maybe she was right. He _should_ see someone about this personality disorder.

He chuckled for a moment at the thought of Oliver Queen confessing to a psychiatrist that he not only had a split personality, but that his other half was the Green Arrow.

He sobered up quickly, though. This was serious. He was going to have to be careful. There just couldn't be a repeat of last night, that was all. After all, regardless of the ego boost it might be for him, it wasn't as though the Green Arrow could actually _date_ Chloe Sullivan. That was just absurd. So why not have Arrow step aside and let Oliver Queen have a go at winning her over? No harm in it, surely, he assured himself as he entered the Isis foundation a few days after their trist.

She was nowhere to be seen. "Miss Sullivan?" he called out. Nothing. Frowning, he walked to the office door and knocked gently on it. "Miss Sullivan? It's Ollie." Still no answer. Uncertainly, he opened the door. He grinned instantly at what he saw. Chloe was sitting slumped over her desk, dead asleep.

He studied her momentarily. She was adorable when she slept. She couldn't possibly be comfortable, but she looked very content, her face slightly pink, almost as if she were blushing.

For an instant he could feel the Green Arrow--or was it Oliver Queen?--itching to lean over and kiss her, partly just out of curiosity as to how she would respond.

He shook himself. Even if it weren't a bad idea, there was no way she would take kindly to Oliver taking advantage of her like that. So instead, he just put a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. "Miss Sullivan?"

She didn't respond.

"Miss Sullivan?" he repeated.

Nothing.

He bent over and whispered in her ear. "Chloe."

She woke with a start, looking around her as though she couldn't remember where she was. Then she looked at him and flushed a deep shade of red.

"Mr. Queen!"

"Ollie," he corrected.

"What time is it? Oh lord! I can't imagine what happened! One minute I was mailing off the last of the bills and the next you're here. What time is it?"

"4:30," he said, grinning in amusement. She was adorable when she was flustered like this.

She groaned. "Oh my goodness, I've been out for _hours_."

He frowned at her, almost concerned. "Do you want to reschedule?"

Her head snapped up, eyes wide. "No! No, of course not! It's not your fault I haven't slept well in a few days. I'm sorry, I just...I don't know what...happened..." she trailed off. Then suddenly she blushed furiously.

"Hey," Oliver tried to calm her down, wondering why she was so red in the face. "It's no big deal. We just have to settle on an amount and what it will go to, and then why don't you take the day off? You look like you could use it," he added, amused.

Her hands flew to her hair, which was in very mild disarray. "Oh no, I'm sure I'm a mess, I--"

"Don't be ridiculous," he cut her off. "You're beautiful."

Chloe looked startled. Evidently not nearly enough people had told her that.

"As a matter of fact," he went on, "why don't you let me make up for the other night and we'll go do something casual and fun," he offered temptingly.

Chloe bit her lip, which was very annoying to both Oliver and the Green Arrow because it was dead sexy and she wasn't even aware of it.

"Come on. I get the feeling you don't give yourself much time for fun."

"What's your idea of fun, though?" she asked warily, undoubtedly thinking of the fact that he frequented clubs and had a universally known playboy reputation.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Movie? Bowling? Something ridiculous you haven't done since high school," he grinned.

She looked at him in surprise. Oliver realized she seemed to be giving him a reappraisal and he wondered uncomfortably whether that were a good thing. "You know what? I can't actually remember the last time I saw a movie from start to finish."

Oliver was grinning at her. "Great. Well let's get the business out of the way now so we can get out of here."

Maybe he stood a chance after all. Apparently catching her off guard was a major key to being on her good side.


	6. Chapter 6

--6--

**Author's Comment: If you have not seen either **_**Captain Blood**_** or **_**Robin Hood**_** starring Errol Flynn (i.e. sexy hunk o' man [and amazing actor]), make a point of it. They are two really fantastic classic movies.**

**B.S.S.**

* * *

"So what movie did you have in mind?" Chloe asked when they had finally signed the last of the papers. It had taken a little longer than planned, and the sky outside was slowly dimming.

She was still embarrassed over the fact that when Oliver had woken her she'd been in the midst of a somewhat heated dream about the Green Arrow. Every time she thought about it she could feel her face grow hot.

On a different note, she liked the idea of going to a movie with Oliver. A movie would be good. No forced conversation or staring at each other. They could just sit. Besides, it was a really nice offer. It was an interesting revelation to find out that Queen could actually be..._sincere_. Those brown eyes were awfully attractive, too. She suddenly wondered what color the Green Arrow's eyes were.

She dropped the thought like it had burnt her. No need to spend any more time thinking about the masked hero than she already did.

"I don't. What's your favorite movie of all time?"

Chloe thought. "Of _all time?_ I don't know. Besides, even if I had one, it wouldn't be playing in theatres right now."

"Your failure to think outside the box saddens me. If I wanted, I could go rent out one of the theatres at the movieplex and get them to play any movie we wanted. I will not do that, however, because I know you will be absurdly and unreasonably embarrassed by it. Now, how about a favorite genre or actor or era or something?"

Chloe just bit her lip uncertainly. "I don't know."

"C'mon. Give me something to work with here."

She chewed on her lip for a moment. "I like older movies."

"_Casablanca_ older or _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_ older?"

She grinned. "Well I wouldn't be opposed to either of those, but I was thinking _Casablanca_ older."

"Well now we're getting somewhere," he said. "How about an actor or actress from that era?"

"Errol Flynn," Chloe answered before thinking about it. Then a shocked expression came over her face. Really? Could she just not think about anything that wasn't somehow connected to the Green Arrow? How pathetic. She rolled her eyes inwardly.

Oliver was fighting a mad desire to smirk at her. The Green Arrow was resisting the urge to make a mocking comment. He wondered again when the two had become separate entities. "Right," he said trying to keep a straight face. "So..._Captain Blood_ maybe? Or _Robin Hood_?"

"You pick," she said quickly.

Oliver debated. "_Captain Blood_."

"Sounds good."

"Do you want to go somewhere and change? I mean, personally, I don't feel like watching a movie in coat and tie," he joked.

"Yeah, all right," Chloe agreed. She was suddenly beginning to wonder if this whole thing weren't a bad idea. Queen--_Ollie_--was clearly on his best behavior at the moment, but what was the point? He was the farthest thing from her ideal guy she could imagine. There was a reason she'd fallen for Clark in high school: polite, shy, socially awkward, farm-boy Clark Kent. Oliver was just...not. So really, was doing something completely not business related with him a good plan? They were going to be alone together and she wouldn't be able to hide behind professionalism. And from the sounds of it, he was talking about going somewhere private to watch a movie, not a crowded theatre like she'd been anticipating.

She followed him out of the building and her silence was starting to make him nervous. Then they reached his car, a silver lotus not even on the lots yet, and Chloe stopped, an awed expression on her face. "You _drive_ this thing?"

"Impressed?" he asked, smirking as he walked around the car and opened the door for her.

"Compensating?" she mocked and his grin slipped.

"Care to find out, Miss Sullivan?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Think I'll pass," she said, but there was no hiding the incredibly amused look in her eyes as he climbed into the driver's side and brought the engine to life.

_Compensating. Right. _ He thought with a scoff as he hit the gas.

* * *

_Well this was a completely unforeseen dilemma_, Chloe thought absurdly as she tore through her closet. She honestly didn't spend much time worrying about what she wore. Of course, she dressed nicely and in clothes that she liked, but lately it was mostly work clothes followed by pajamas.

The trouble was she had no idea what was appropriate for this situation. What did you wear for a casual date that you didn't actually want to be a date? And it was someone she was doing business with, so to what extent was she expected to maintain professionalism?

This was...this was...

This was a job for Lois Lane.

Within minutes she had her cousin on the phone.

"Hey, cuz," Lois answered after the second ring.

"Lois I'm actually having a wardrobe crisis and I don't think I've had one of those since I was thirteen and I think I'm accidentally going on a date with a guy I really shouldn't encourage and he's a business associate so I don't know how professional I should be without being _too_ professional and by the same token I have no idea how casual is _too _casual and I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

"You're going on a date? Thank God."

"Really, Lo?"

"Sorry. Do you want me to come over?"

"No! There's no time. He's waiting on me downstairs."

"Who is this mystery man?"

"Lois I swear I will keep him a total secret from you until the day I die if you do not help me figure this out right now!"

"Right. Okay, where is he taking you?"

"I think we're going to his place to watch a movie."

"_His place_?"

"One more word, Lois, and I swear--"

"Right. Movie. Jeans and a long sleeve shirt. You don't want to encourage him, so nothing too low cut, although personally, I--"

"_Goodbye, Lois_," Chloe said irritably, hanging up the phone.

* * *

Oliver was sitting in the car, waiting on her, drumming his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel when it happened. A car came barreling past followed by three squad cars, sirens blaring.

He swore loudly. He glanced up at Chloe's apartment. Now? Really? _Now? _Chloe had only be gone a couple of minutes, surely there was time...

No. Let the cops handle it.

The cops in this city were worthless.

Chloe would wonder where he'd gone.

But he could already feel himself giving in to the stronger need, the one for justice.

He swore again and climbed out of the car.

* * *

Chloe descended the stairs rapidly, happily situated in a pair of her favorite jeans and a long sleeved, rust red V-neck T-shirt. She got out the door and frowned in confusion.

She looked around.

Where on earth would he _go_?


	7. Chapter 7

--7--

Really? _Really?_ What on earth was she doing? What on earth was _he_ doing? Chloe looked around her irritably for the millionth time. She was leaning against his car and it had been at least half an hour she noted, checking her watch. Again.

With a frustrated sigh she pushed herself off the car and headed back to her building, shaking her head. There had better be some extremely good explanation for this.

He had to come back eventually, surely. He'd left the car for goodness' sake! She rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath as she climbed back up the stairs to her apartment.

It was just absurd.

* * *

The Green Arrow had arrived just in time to see her shove away from the car and head back up to her apartment.

He was fighting the urge to go after her without even changing back. Trouble was, he couldn't really even tell if it was Oliver or the Green Arrow who would be going after her.

There was a reason Oliver had not chosen the movie _Robin Hood. _There was no need to encourage the Robin Hood infatuation any more than necessary. The Green Arrow attraction really needed to be nipped in the bud.

* * *

Up in her apartment, Chloe stood at the window glaring at the car once again in spite of herself. She kept expecting him to come back. Honestly, what was the deal?

Someone knocked on her door and she jumped.

"Miss Sullivan?"

She walked over to the door and flung it open. Oliver Queen (complete with street clothes) stood before her with a sheepish expression on his face. "I can explain," were the first words to fall out of his mouth.

"Where on earth did you go?" she demanded. She was so confused. He looked hot, sweaty, and out of breath and like he was trying his best to hide it.

"Okay, here's the thing: Did you hear those sirens a little while ago?"

She nodded slowly, not sure where he was going with this.

"Well someone stole a car and was holding the driver hostage, and the car turned right in front of me so I got a really good look at the guy's face and one of the policeman requested I come down to the station and give a description. I told them I couldn't but..." he trailed off, and she had a feeling he was embarrassed at what a thin excuse it was. "I'm really sorry."

Chloe wasn't entirely fooled. Something didn't add up. She just couldn't put her finger on what. But she didn't push it. At least he'd apologized.

She shrugged. "Whatever. I know what the cops in this town are like. They need all the help they can get."

"You still want to do the movie, right?" he asked, clearly trying not to betray his anxiety with his voice.

She bit her lip. "I guess," she conceded finally, and Oliver released a subtle breath of relief.

"By the way, am I allowed to call you Chloe, yet?"

She smirked. "No." She brushed past him to the stairs.

"Why not?" he asked, following her.

"Because I think it's a very healthy thing for you to feel inferior to me."

"Who said I felt inferior?"

"Please." She gave him a slightly vindictive grin. "By the way, I expect you to make this up to me."

* * *

Chloe felt nervous, like the high school girl who knew she shouldn't have gone to the hotel with her prom date, but did it anyway.

Oliver had left the room to change out of his suit and Chloe was left alone in his incredible penthouse, wondering what on earth she had gotten herself into. She wished she'd used his vanishing act earlier as an excuse not to go through with it.

When Oliver reappeared in jeans and a hoodie, he instantly recognized the anxiety on her face.

His brow furrowed. "Are you not comfortable with this? 'Cause you don't have to stay."

Chloe was surprised, to say the least. The statement in itself was less than significant, however thoughtful. It was hearing it come out of Oliver Queen's mouth that was weird for her. Chloe frowned.

"Would you stop that?" she complained.

"Stop...wait, what?"

"Stop not letting me stereotype you. You are making it very difficult to be judgmental right now."

He grinned. "Am I to understand that means you don't mind staying?"

Chloe nodded. She wasn't going to pretend she was a little uncomfortable or that this wasn't a little bit unsafe, considering how short a time she'd known him, but she also knew that he deserved a better chance than she'd been giving him. Furthermore, if he tried anything, she had Superman on speed dial. "How can I say no to that flat screen?" she joked, trying to lighten the situation.

He laughed and headed for the fridge. "Something to eat or drink?" he offered.

Chloe shook her head. "Honestly, I don't think I want anything, but you go ahead."

He grabbed a bottle of water for himself and joined her on the couch.

* * *

It was about an hour into the movie that things started getting difficult. They'd both sufficiently relaxed with each other, and Oliver had officially stopped watching the movie in favor of watching Chloe watch the movie. She had started off intent and focused, her face betraying each of her reactions. But now, her lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll on her again (a subject he was still curious about: Had it been purely the result of her interlude with Arrow? Or had there been still other circumstances contributing to that? After all, that incident had been a few days ago). Her eyelids appeared to be getting heavier, and her eyes were glazed over.

Meanwhile Oliver was extremely frustrated. Technically, he'd already kissed Chloe--heck, if he were being honest, he'd already made out with her--twice. It was extremely difficult to be in this proximity and control himself now. In her mind they'd barely had any interaction whatsoever, and Oliver Queen putting a move on her would probably register as sexual assault in her mind.

It was beyond frustrating: it was maddening.

Then she fell asleep and he had no idea what the standard protocol would be when the movie ended. Did he wake her? He didn't want to, and he'd be perfectly fine with her staying the night. But she might not be okay with that. She'd probably want to be woken up. Right?

About two thirds into the movie when Oliver had finally made the decision to go ahead and wake her when it was over, Chloe started talking in her sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

--8--

"You should go," Chloe muttered, almost incoherently, in her sleep.

Oliver smirked. "Why?"

"I'd never explain to Lois," she responded in a mumble.

"Explain what?"

"The leather," she grumbled.

Oliver nearly laughed out loud. The leather?

Chloe was frowning in her sleep. "Stupid smirk," she muttered. Then, "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

But Chloe only grumbled something he didn't understand.

Oliver tried to think of a way to turn this to his advantage. "What do you think of Oliver?" he asked.

Chloe's frown deepened. "You're not him."

"Who am I?"

"Not Oliver."

"Who is not Oliver?"

"The Green Arrow."

* * *

Chloe woke up with the distinct impression that she should be...uncomfortable about something.

Her dream flooded back to her, and she realized that once again it had been about the Green Arrow. Fantastic. This was getting completely out of control.

Speaking of out of control, she was on Oliver Queen's couch. She looked around blearily,and the memory of where she was and why flooded back to her. She groaned.

"I fell asleep? Again?" she asked. Oliver was standing over her.

He nodded, a little amused, but there was a different expression in his eyes. Something was off. She had the strange impression she was looking at someone entirely different from Oliver Queen. She blinked and it was gone. He was normal again.

Wow. She must be _really_ sleep deprived.

"Did you know you talk in your sleep?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Chloe looked mortified. "Oh no..."

"The Green Arrow, huh? Is that like some sort of chick fantasy I'm not really going to understand or--"

"Shut up!" she said, upset. She couldn't possibly imagine anything more embarrassing than that moment.

He looked at her apologetically, apparently realizing she wouldn't take kindly to teasing at the moment.

"Sorry."

Chloe was still blushing uncomfortably. "Well I'm sorry I fell asleep on you. I guess I'm just lousy company."

He shrugged. "You could never be lousy company. You just need a good night's sleep is all. I'll take you home," he said, going to grab his keys.

Chloe stretched and rubbed her eyes wearily. Once again she felt a bit guilty for not giving Oliver a proper chance. Why was he trying so hard, anyway? She looked at him with a sense of fatigue. These men were going to be the death of her.

* * *

Oliver drove Chloe home in silence. She said nothing, either, apparently too tired for speech. When he pulled up to her building he offered to walk her up, but she shook her head gently.

"I've got it, thanks," she said.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?" she looked at him tiredly.

"Any chance we're ever going to do this and not have it be a disaster?"

The corner of her mouth twitched. "I'd say there's a fair shot," she conceded. She hesitated a second, then added, "Why don't you give me a call in the next couple of days?"

He nodded, trying not to show how ecstatic he was that she wasn't giving up on him. "Sounds good." Then, cautiously, he leaned over and placed a light kiss on her cheek. She blushed shyly and climbed out of the car. "Good night, Oliver."

He was fairly certain that was the first time she'd called him Oliver out loud. It sounded nice. And it had to be a sign of progress if she'd quit calling him 'Mr. Queen.'

"Goodnight, Miss Sullivan," he said.

"Oliver?" she asked, leaning back in the window.

"Yeah?"

"You give me another call, and I'll let you start calling me Chloe." She smiled.

He grinned as she left.

* * *

He went home feeling lighter than ever, but when he donned his Green Arrow gear with the intention of patrolling for the night, he found that the Green Arrow had other plans.

* * *

Chloe rolled over in her sleep. She was gorgeous when she slept. The breeze from her window hit her face and a frown graced her features, even in sleep. Slowly she began to come to.

"MIss me, gorgeous?" the Green Arrow said, leaning against the wall beside her window.

Chloe's eyes shot open. "Oh my god!" she nearly shrieked, sitting up in bed and backing away from him.

He smirked. "Oh relax. Just dropped in for a visit."

She nodded but her body remained visibly tense.

"Here," he said. "As a show of good faith, I'll put my bow down, and you can pull out that gun under your pillow." He nodded toward where the handle was sticking out from beneath her pillow and dropped his bow gently to the ground.

Chloe bit her lip. That seemed to be a very bad habit of hers. Her hand reached instinctively for the gun, but then she drew it back. She looked at him nervously.

"Am I to take that as I sign of trust?" he asked.

She studied him, then shrugged. "You haven't actually done anything to arouse distrust, yet, although I must say," she added pointedly, "breaking and entering is definitely not a mark in your favor."

The arrogant smirk returned to his face. "You should sleep with your windows locked. You never know who might break in."

She frowned. "It's never been a problem until now."

He chuckled.

"So..." she said uncomfortably when he didn't say anything else.

He remained silent, studying her. He couldn't explain it. It was like he was jealous of himself. Oliver was frustrated that Chloe was more interested in the Green Arrow than him, and the Green Arrow was irritated that Oliver was the one who got to know Chloe and spend actual time with her. It was getting ridiculous. Why couldn't he just see himself as the same person?

Sudden clarity donned on him as he realized that the problem was not so much that he saw himself as two people, but that Chloe saw him as two people. Until that stopped, this wasn't going to get any better any time soon. Until then, it was like two entirely separate relationships.

He frowned. Well that just..._sucked_.

Chloe shifted her pajamas slightly, covering herself a little better than she had been when she first woke up.

"You really shouldn't be here," she said at last with a sigh.

"Why's that?"

She frowned. "I'm kind of _seeing _someone. This isn't exactly appropriate."

"Queen, huh?"

She looked startled. "Dear God, _are you following me?_" she demanded. "Do you have any idea how illegal--"

"You are a paranoid woman aren't you? Nobody said anything about stalking. I just happened to see you together. Again."

She frowned at him. "I don't think you really have a right to ask me about my personal life."

"And why not?" he glowered, although she probably couldn't see it with the shadows.

"You and I--" she started, her frown deepening as she struggled to put her thoughts to words. "It's not like there's a clearly defined relationship here," she said finally. "I never did care for ambiguity. And in any case, we've only run into each other twice."

"That can change."

She swallowed nervously. "Oh what," she said sarcastically. "Are you going to tell me the Green Arrow wants to be a steady boyfriend? Because I'm sure that would be very easy to explain to my friends and family. 'Hey, Lois. Yeah, no you can't set me up with that guy you work with because I'm dating the Green Arrow. Oh, and Oliver, I'm going to stop seeing you in favor of someone who will never actually be able to take me anywhere,' " she mimicked herself absurdly.

"You're very attractive when you're being sarcastic, you know that?"

She glared at him.

"I'm not telling you to do anything. I'm just not going to pretend I'm not a little jealous," he said wryly. Sadly, the statement was true.

She swallowed again. "Huh," was her only response as he moved closer to her bed.

"And I stopped by because I've been thinking about you."

"Have you?"

He nodded. "A lot."

Chloe scooted against the headboard of her bed anxiously, but he leaned over and pulled her off the bed. Placing his hands on her waist, he knew he should be worried that she could just reach out and snatch away his glasses or throw back his hood and he'd be exposed (there was just no way she was going to understand this if she did), but he couldn't make himself be concerned. For some reason he had the feeling she had a certain level of respect for secret identities. Maybe it was because he'd seen a photo of her and Clark Kent on her desk at work. He had a feeling she knew a little bit more than the average person about the mild-mannered-farm-boy-turned-reporter. Of course, Oliver had recognized Kent immediately. He'd had an encounter or two with Superman, and those glasses weren't fooling anyone.

No, he trusted Chloe not to cross that line. The question remained how she felt about him. Was it only an attraction she couldn't resist? Or more than that? He sincerely wished he weren't two people to her. He wanted to be one man, the one man she'd choose.

"Close your eyes," he said, his hands tightening on her hips as his thumbs massaged circles at the crook of her thighs. Her breathing was coming more and more shallowly in reaction to his touch, but she obeyed.

He brushed the back of his gloved fingers over her cheek, down her neck, along her shoulder, tracing the contours of her body so gently that he raised a path of goose bumps. She shivered and tilted her head back involuntarily, her eyes remaining closed.

He moved the tips of his fingers back up the same path before cupping her face in his hand, his thumb brushing over her lips. Slowly he leaned down and kissed her softly. He felt her sharp intake of breath before she responded, her hands reaching up to wrap around his neck, and their bodies pulled together instinctively.

His hands moved up her sides and grazed her breasts, causing her to press against him wantonly, whimpering into his mouth.

_Oh God_, he thought, running his hands back down over her thighs lustfully. This wouldn't end well.


	9. Chapter 9

--9--

WHAT THE HELL? Oliver banged his head against the wall of his apartment.

He was stupid, idiotic, and potentially schizophrenic.

It had been more than bad enough kissing her, but sleeping with her? What the hell had come over him? He grabbed a bottle of tequila from the bar, not caring that it was only eight in the morning.

He had the irrational feeling that somehow Chloe was cheating on him, even though technically she was dating neither Oliver Queen nor the Green Arrow and even if she were, technically it wasn't cheating, she just didn't know that, and regardless, it would still be his fault.

The image of her writhing beneath him flashed to his mind, and he moaned in agony, sinking to the floor. What had he done?

Of course, even in his state of hysteria, there was still a part of him--a shameless part--that was glorying in what had happened. It hadn't been premeditated; it had just happened. Twice. Magnificently. He groaned miserably. Good lord it had been fantastic. Stupid, but fantastic. And then there was the fact that she hadn't questioned or reproached him, just nodded in understanding when he said he had to leave, kissing her again before climbing back out her window, the most difficult thing he'd ever done in his life. He'd wanted to come clean to her right then and there.

What on earth was he supposed to do? It felt just flat out _wrong_ to pursue her as Oliver Queen now. It would be like forcing her to cheat on him..._with him_. He threw the shot glass angrily at the wall, where it shattered. This was by far the most convoluted, ludicrous, ridiculous, asinine situation he'd ever gotten himself into.

And he was supposed to call her in the next couple of days! He buried his face in his hands in anguish. What was he going to do? Shooting himself sounded like a decent option at the moment.

* * *

Someone knocked on Chloe's door and she groaned.

"Chloe, it's Lois!"

"Go away," Chloe muttered inaudibly, waving her hand at the door in a shooing motion that Lois couldn't possibly see.

"Chloe?"

"Come in, Lois!"

Lois had her own key, thank goodness. Chloe groaned into her pillow.

Her cousin entered the apartment curiously. She found Chloe in her bedroom, still in bed. "Chloe? Aren't you going to work?"

"No," Chloe said grumpily.

"You sick?"

"No." Then she moaned, throwing the covers over her head. "Yeeeessss."

Lois chuckled. "Bad night?"

Absolutely incredible night. Bad decision making. "Something like that."

Lois nodded understandingly. "I just came to ask about your mystery man."

Chloe's eyes flew open under the blankets. What? Honestly, was Clark the only one who was capable of keeping secrets from Lois? Because that was ridiculous. Clark was terrible at keeping secrets, all things considered.

"What?" she questioned from beneath the covers, playing dumb.

"You know. You called me yesterday, freaking out about what to wear," Lois reminded her.

Chloe released a sigh of relief. Right. Oliver.

Oh God. _Oliver_.

"It went...awkwardly well," she said, pulling the blankets back down and feeling guilt bubbling up inside of her. "He's kind of all right. I don't know. He's growing on me."

_Fine way to show it, Chloe_, she mocked herself. _Really. Bravo._

"Well that's good. Who is he?"

"If I tell you, will you promise not to freak out?"

"Oh, now I've _got_ to know."

"Lois."

"Yeah sure. No freak outs."

"Oliver Queen."

"THE BILLIONAIRE? And you didn't want to encourage him?" She gave her cousin a once over, as though ascertaining her mental health.

"That's the one," Chloe said ruefully. What a nightmare.

"Jeez, cuz," Lois said in awe. Then she added teasingly, "Wanna trade?"

Chloe moaned.

"Right. You clearly need to take a day for sleep. Why don't you give me a call later so you can tell me all about it. We'll finally have that girls' night we've been talking about. I'm thinking Chinese food and lots of gossip," she said.

"Sure. Sounds good." Anything to get rid of her.

"Awesome. Let me know when you're up to it."

"Yep."

And then Lois was gone, leaving Chloe to chastise herself over the stupidity of sleeping with someone--however glorious it may have been--whose face she'd never seen and whose real name she didn't know.

What did she think this was? Vegas?

She wanted to cry. It wasn't fair. She didn't even know how she felt about the guy. She wanted to believe it was more than just attraction, but was that the sex talking? There was no way of knowing now.

The worst part was she would do it again. She wanted to _see _him again. The curiosity in and of itself was maddening, and now...well. Now.

Why couldn't he just tell her who he was?

"Stupid leather-wearing, face-hiding, breaking-and-entering attractive person!" she muttered ludicrously into her pillow, beating her fist against it.

She eventually decided she couldn't do anything about it for the moment, and Lois was completely right: she needed to take a day for sleep.

Eventually she did drift back into a deep sleep, in which she dreamt of the Green Arrow...and Oliver? When she woke up later, she vaguely remembered something about black kryptonite splitting Oliver into two separate people, one of which was everyone's favorite emerald archer.

She scoffed. Right. That was wishful thinking. She assumed her subconscious was trying to ease the intense guilt she was feeling.

* * *

Clark stopped by later and Chloe wanted to die. Of all the people in her life, Clark Kent was at the bottom of the list as far as who she wanted to see in that moment went. She always had this feeling that Clark was going to be able to see right through her any time she'd done something even slightly immoral.

He meant well. Of course he did, she thought resentfully. He was Clark. He always _meant_ well. Small wonder he'd grown up to be the world's most renowned superhero.

Lois had told him that Chloe wasn't feeling well, and he came by on his lunch break to see if she needed anything. "I brought soup," he said, holding up a tupperware dish. "Had Mom make it just for you. Stopped by for it just now, so it's really hot." He placed it on the counter for her to tend to at her will.

"You have the state senator making me chicken soup?" Chloe asked, not a little amused.

"Of course not," Clark said. "It's tomato. Your favorite."

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Clark. And tell Mrs. Kent I said thank you, too."

He nodded. "How are you feeling?"

Chloe groaned. _ Like I had sex with a complete stranger_, she thought, vexed. "All right. I'm sure I'll be up and going tomorrow. No doubt."

"Glad to hear it. So tell me," his expression turned serious. "You haven't had any more run-ins with the Green Arrow, have you?"

Chloe wished the floor of her apartment would open up and swallow her alive. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "Just concerned about you. I know what kind of guy he is, and he's not a crook or anything, but he's no white knight either."

_You're telling me_. "I guess. He did save my life, though, you know."

Clark nodded. "I know. Like I said. He's not a crook. I just think he's got a very blurred idea of right and wrong."

"Well, Clark, to be fair, not everything is black and white like it seems to be to Superman. The rest of us are only human, you know." She didn't say it unkindly or accusingly, and she knew he understood what she meant. Nobody ever had the exact same idea of right and wrong. Clark was just concerned because the Green Arrow was in a position of power, and power corrupted people easily.

But Chloe was convinced he wasn't a bad person. Something about the way he'd kissed her goodbye...she frowned in deep thought, remembering it. It had been different in that moment. Like he was kissing her to stop himself from saying something. She could almost feel the regret in that kiss.

She brought her fingers up to her lips unconsciously.

Clark raised an eyebrow at her.

* * *

A day later Chloe was taking a second day off. She'd finally gotten enough sleep, however unsettling her dreams might have become. With her head as clear as it was going to be, she'd come to a few unfortunate but necessary conclusions:

First, she had to avoid any more liaisons with the Green Arrow. She didn't really know how she felt about him, but the fact of the matter was that regardless, it could never work, and she refused to throw her life away on something that just _couldn't_ happen.

Second, that probably meant locking her window at night from here on out, as well as developing a very strong determination to say 'no' to him if she ran into him again. She doubted that part was going to go very well.

Third, Oliver was proving to be a really decent guy all around, whatever she might have initially thought when she met him. Yeah, he was arrogant as anything, but he was also nice and a relatively thoughtful person. Besides that, he was the first attractive, decent guy to show her attention in a long time (masked vigilantes excluded), and he deserved to be given a chance. She liked him. Nice, simple, single-identity Oliver. There wasn't a fiery connection like with the leather-clad wonder, but there was still some distinct chemistry there, whether she'd been ready to admit it in the beginning or not. In the long run, she could do much, much worse than Oliver Queen.

Fourth, neither Clark nor Lois was ever going to find out about any of this if she had it her way. Clark would show no restraint in his immense disapproval, and probably go out and find the Green Arrow to string him from the nearest tree. Lois would be...well, she'd be _Lois_ to the very epitome of what that meant. There would be mingled disapproval but mostly intense giggling and dirty jokes and comments that would make Chloe uncomfortable to no end. She didn't need any of that.

Finally, she was taking some well-deserved time off from work.

She went over the mental list in her head while she was shopping with Lois. Lois had discovered Chloe's impromptu vacation and insisted they spend an entire day together, beginning with fresh donuts for breakfast, followed by a day of shopping and trying on gorgeous clothes they couldn't afford. After that, Chinese food and, as previously stated, 'lots of gossip.' Apparently, Lois and Clark had reached "PDA number twelve on date number she'd-lost-count." Chloe just smiled. She wondered what she had to do to have a relationship like Clark's and Lois's.

Overall, the day was nice, really. It felt good to get away from all the stress of Isis and men and...well, men.

Lois was fixated with the Chloe/Oliver affair, and her excitement was catching. It was probably the best thing for Chloe to be around someone who encouraged it so much. The more Lois approved, the more Chloe found herself thinking her cousin was right.


	10. Chapter 10

--10--

Chloe sighed. Three days and nothing from Oliver. She'd really expected to hear from him by now. She put her cell phone back in her purse for the millionth time.

"Still no word from rich boy?" Lois asked her, eyebrows up.

Chloe shook her head. "And don't call him rich boy." They were out to lunch together, Chloe having inspired Lois to actually _leave_ the Daily Planet for her lunch break.

"Clark knows he's required to call me if there's ever a hot story," she'd said after ordering a sandwich. Currently, she was more interested in the MIA billionaire. "It's weird," she said. "All signs point to him being into you. I'd have expected him to call you by now."

"Thank you, Lois. That's so helpful," Chloe responded acerbically.

"Sorry."

"Well in any case, I'm going back to work tomorrow."

"National Chloe Holiday officially over then?" Lois asked.

She nodded. "Yep. I'm feeling infinitely better than I did a few days ago," Chloe said. "I don't know. Something just came over me. I think I'd been working too much. It was starting to get to me. This has been refreshing. I feel ready to tackle everything head on now."

Lois grinned. "Good. That's what I like to hear. I don't like seeing you like you were a couple days ago, cuz. Freaks me out. You're supposed to be the one who's got it all together in this relationship, not me," she reminded, gesturing between the two of them.

"Duly noted. Won't happen again," Chloe said, smiling back.

"And who knows?" Lois added. "Maybe he's been waiting to visit you at work."

Chloe wasn't very hopeful for whatever reason. Maybe she was just convinced that somehow he would know she'd slept with the Green Arrow, and now he didn't want anything to do with her. Paranoid, she knew, but she couldn't help but think it anyway.

* * *

Oliver was beside himself. Was she avoiding him? He'd finally sucked it up to call her, and not only had she not answered, she still hadn't called him back.

More frustrating than anything was the fact that the only number he had for her was her work number. It had been three days now since he'd seen her. It had taken exactly twelve hours to determine what he had to do.

On a temporary basis, he'd locked up his Green Arrow gear. Whatever was going on, he couldn't be trusted to wear that suit right now. Chloe didn't deserve what the Green Arrow was putting her through, and it was time for him to fade out of the picture for a little while, as awful as that was in its own way.

Of course, if Metropolis as a city suddenly needed him, he'd be donning the costume and grabbing his bow in a heartbeat, but short of that...well, Superman was just going to have to cover it.

That aside, why hadn't Chloe returned his calls? He'd left at least two messages by now. He hoped desperately that it had nothing to do with the Green Arrow.

So on day three, he decided he was going to go see her at work. If he got a bad vibe, he could use the pretense of business and get out of there and that would be that.

He really hoped there was an explanation other than her having changed her mind about him.

* * *

_The Next Day_

Oliver couldn't help but hold his breath as he entered the Isis Foundation, praying to God that he hadn't completely screwed this whole thing up.

The brilliant, melting smile he received when Chloe spotted him indicated that apparently he had not.

"Oliver!" she said, smiling. "I just got your messages. I'm so sorry I didn't get back to you. I've been out of the office for a few days, and I hadn't realized I never gave you a personal number," she explained.

Immense relief washed over Oliver. Thank God.

"How have you been?" he asked, still wary.

A strange look flashed across her face, and he could only imagine too well what it was about. "I've been...weird, really. I don't know; I've been going through some really bizarre stuff lately, and I realized I needed to take some personal time away from the office."

He nodded understandingly. "So how did that work out for you?"

"Pretty well, actually. Gained a lot of clarity. Decided there are certain things going on with me right now that I just have to put a stop to."

He tried not to show his intense curiosity over her cryptic statement. Instead, he grinned, "Well I hope that doesn't include seeing me."

Her cheeks turned a little pink. "No."

Tidal waves. Tsunamis of relief.

"Glad to hear it because I was actually hoping you might be my date tomorrow night?"

"What for?"

"Charity Ball for the Cancer Research Foundation."

"That would be...really nice." She kept blushing and was having trouble making eye contact with him. The trouble was Oliver couldn't tell whether it was because she was ashamed of what she'd done a few days ago, or if it was because she was starting to really like him.

He wished rather than believed it to be the latter.

"Fantastic. There'll be a package waiting for you when you get home," he added, trying to sound mysterious.

She looked suspiciously at him, the corners of her lips fighting not to pull into a smile. "Why?"

He shrugged, trying to play it off. "I got you a dress."

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to be one of those people in my life that I'll never be able to persuade not to buy me gifts?"

He just grinned mischievously, secretly ecstatic that he was considered a part of her life. She rolled her eyes.

"Well anyway," she said, leaning toward him and resting an elbow on her desk, "What have you been up to for the last couple of days?"

He swallowed uncomfortably. "You know, sort of the same thing as you. I've been feeling really caught up in some things lately, and I didn't take any time off from work, but I was spending a little time finding 'clarity' to use your word."

Chloe nodded. "Feels good, doesn't it?"

How could it not with the way she was looking at him? He still felt guilty, but at least it looked like things were going to work out. Maybe being the Green Arrow hadn't screwed his _entire_ life over.

Chloe's eyebrow suddenly furrowed as she looked at him, as though remembering something.

"What?" he asked.

She snapped out of it. "Oh...you know, it's the silliest thing."

"What?" he prompted again.

"Well...And don't let this go to you're head," she prefaced with a slight smirk. "But I had the strangest dream the other day that you were in."

His stomach flipped. "Oh?"

"Yeah," she said, frowning again. "It was really weird but I think the basic gist of it was that in my dream you were the Green Arrow."

Oliver's heart nearly stopped. He fought to stay composed. "Me?" he smirked. "Right."

Chloe laughed, too. "I know! It's the most absurd thing!"

"I guess I should be flattered you're dreaming about me," Oliver said, eyebrows up.

She turned red, but laughed it off. "Yeah, well, don't preen your feathers too much, peacock. I didn't say it was a _good _dream."

* * *

Chloe wondered if formal events like this were going to become a regular part of her life if she started dating Oliver for real.

She was home, and overall, feeling really good about where things were with Oliver. There was still a strong sense of guilt. What she'd done...she and Oliver might not be in a relationship, but it was definitely not fair to him. She just had to hope that from there on out, things continued to go in the right direction.

When he'd shown up at Isis, that was when she'd realized it. The Green Arrow was mysterious and sexually appealing and many other things, but she didn't know him, and she had no chance of getting to know him. Oliver, on the other hand, he wasn't an open book either. She felt like she could talk to him for hours and still not know everything there was to know about Oliver Queen. And of course he was incredibly sexy. That was a given. But the important thing was that he was real. And normal. He wasn't some masked hero who ran around saving lives and keeping secrets. She knew his name and his face and his voice. Those were all things the Green Arrow would probably never be able to give her.

Yes, she nodded to herself in the mirror. Oliver was a good choice. He felt right. Not that she would ever have been able to guess that a couple of weeks ago. Who knew Oliver Queen would end up growing on her so much?

She found a box waiting for her on the counter of her kitchen and wondered vaguely how on earth it had gotten _inside _her apartment, but then she shook her head, deciding it was best not to think about it. She opened the box, trying not to anticipate too much.

Oliver did not disappoint. She caught her breath when she pulled out a jade green silk dress. It was...stunning. Not unlike her favorite blue dress, it was timeless. She smiled to herself, fingering the silk.

* * *

Okay, so he'd lied to himself. Locking up the Green Arrow gear had been a lot harder than he'd thought it would be.

Problem was, he didn't like the idea that Chloe would see him--either part of him--as a person who would sleep with her and just disappear. It wasn't what he wanted with her. And he knew that technically he wasn't doing that, but Chloe didn't.

The Green Arrow needed to say goodbye and have done with it.

She'd picked up the dress he gave her again, and his grin at how pleased she seemed to be with it was lost in shadow. After she'd carefully placed it back in the box and set that on her dresser she'd walked over to her bed, where she laid down, but didn't seem able to fall asleep.

The window was locked, he noted with a small knot in his stomach.

Well, he deserved it.

But he unlatched it anyway, sliding it open and causing Chloe to jump.

Her hand clutched her heart. "Darn it all, why can't you just knock on the door like regular people?" she demanded.

"Do I look like regular people to you?" he asked sarcastically.

She glared. "And here I thought you said locking my window would keep out unwanted visitors."

Ouch. That really stung. "I said it would be smart. Didn't say it could keep me out."

"How nice for you."

He looked over to the wall. The animosity in her face was evident, and he didn't want to see it. "You've got good reason to be angry with me. I know."

"You've," he heard her voice start to catch but she covered it with a cough. "You've got that right."

He sighed in frustration. She was making this so difficult for him. He couldn't stand that she was upset with him, and he was probably just going to upset her more.

* * *

**Author's Comment: Confession: in the original draft for this chapter, there was no scene with Green Arrow at the end. I decided that Oliver didn't have it in him to fight putting on the suit. In the show I know he managed it during his downward spiral, but...well, he was in a downward spiral. I don't think the healthy Oliver could resist the itch, especially not when he knows Chloe's is sitting around somewhere angry with him.**


	11. Chapter 11

--11--

Chloe was trying very hard to be angry, but it was difficult. Most of her wanted little more than to go throw herself at him and make love with him again.

It was a very pressing desire, but she fought it down, reminding herself of the decisions she'd made.

He wasn't looking at her, just staring at the wall her dresser stood against. She noticed his fists were clenched. She realized he may well be having as difficult a time as she was. When he spoke again it made her jump. "I came to apologize."

She looked at him in surprise.

"The other night...things got out of hand. I shouldn't have done that to you. It isn't fair to you."

She said nothing. She wanted to disagree, to tell him it was all right because something about the way he was talking was heart breaking, even through the sound of that blasted distorter.

He took in a deep breath and turned to face her. "Anyway, I came here to say goodbye. I can't do this to you anymore. You deserve better."

Chloe couldn't speak. It was what she wanted. It was right. It was more than she could ask of him, but at the same time every fiber of her was telling her not to let him go.

* * *

Oliver swallowed hard. The look on her face was killing him. He wanted to take it back and go over there and kiss her as hard as he could instead.

Finally she spoke, shaking her head in frustration. "You do realize we could solve all this if you'd just tell me who you are?"

He swore silently. He wanted nothing more than to do just that, and he had not argument for it but one. "You'd never forgive me."

She frowned, then said bitterly. "What, are you married or something?"

"No! It's nothing like that. It's just...I just can't." He cursed under his breath and beat his fist against the wall in frustration.

Chloe nodded. She stood up and walked over to him, pulling him away from the wall. "Look, I've been dealing with things like this a lot longer than you know, and I understand if you can't tell me. That's your choice. But I want you to know that if you ever need help or anything, you can come find me. No resentment." She gave a trite laugh. "Among other things I'm the best computer hacker in the country, just by the way. And the same rule stands if you ever need someone to just talk to. I know how lonely this life can be for someone." He realized she must be thinking of Kent, and it donned on him: she really did understand.

Before he could stop her she stood up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, closing her eyes. He turned his head to kiss her properly, and found with a pang that there were a few tears on her face. He pushed her away from him before he changed his mind and climbed out the window without looking at her.

* * *

It was shortly after the Green Arrow left that Chloe received the phone call. She picked up her phone, not recognizing the number, and wondering who would be calling her.

"Hello," she said, her mind miles away.

"_Miss Sullivan_," said a deep, nondescript voice in her ear. "_This is a warning_. _The Isis Foundation will be shut down, do you understand?_"

Chloe's heart thudded in her chest. "Who is this?" she asked, trying not to betray her fear.

"_This is someone who, unlike you, wants to protect humanity from mutant freaks like the ones you're 'helping.' You have twenty-four hours to shut down your program or suffer the consequences._"

"I refuse to respond to threats and terrorism, and I demand to know who I'm speaking to," Chloe said boldly, sounding braver than she felt.

"_You have twenty-four hours to decide_," the voice repeated. "_Unless you comply you will be the first to die, and you will die with the knowledge that all of your precious meteor freaks will follow shortly after_."

"I don't need twenty-four hours," she responded rashly. She knew there was a good possibility this was an empty threat. She'd received them before, frequently even, although never quite as bad as this. "I will not be intimidated. If you have a real problem with the foundation, you should learn what we're really about. And furthermore, they are not freaks. They are gifted, and you need to learn tolerance."

There was a short pause.

"_Have it your way._"

Before she could say anything else, the caller hung up.

* * *

Chloe's sleep was restless. She tossed and turned and hated that she was alone. She told herself over and over again that she and the foundation had received countless threats over the past year or so. There were some people who just didn't understand what they were doing, and people were afraid of what they didn't understand.

But it was more than just the phone call, she knew. She angrily wished that the Green Arrow were still there because then she would be safe. And not alone. Part of her wanted to call Oliver, but the guilt prevented her. How could she call him after what had just happened with the Green Arrow?

So she laid there all night long, staring bitterly at the ceiling, hating herself and the world around her.

When she got up for work the next morning she was exhausted and, if she were truthful, horribly embittered. All from one night. She found herself checking over her shoulder all day long, and she cursed Clark and Lois, who were out of town for an article. Why was it whenever she felt most alone everyone she cared about seemed to high tail it out of her life?

Even Oliver didn't come around to see her, probably resisting the urge to do so before their date that night. Typical. She wanted him so he was nowhere to be found.

Finally at 12:30 she gave in, leaning her elbows on her desk and starting to cry. It wasn't fair. It was...it was...it was just wrong. She wanted to go home and curl up in a ball. She wanted someone to give her a hug and tell her it was all right. She'd thought about calling the police over last night's phone call, but didn't want to show any sign of weakness. Besides, she'd never trusted the Metropolis police entirely. Some of them had even made it evident to her in the past that they had a problem with the foundation. For all she knew, someone within the department was one of the people threatening her. She refused to allow for the possibility that these people would get wind that she was scared.

The only precaution she took was to cancel all of her meetings and sessions for that day. She didn't want anyone put in the line of fire if she could help it.

But she'd had to come in. She had to stay there right until the very last minute because otherwise it would be a sign of weakness, that they were getting to her. She would not close early, however badly she wanted to.

* * *

Oliver was too busy emotionally beating himself to a pulp to think about going to see Chloe.

Last night had been for the best but it had also been horrifically painful. Internally he was arguing with himself, trying to persuade himself to tell her everything. He wanted her to know him, all of him, and he wanted her to see him as one person more than he could remember ever wanting anything.

The way she'd looked at him last night...he shuddered. He felt like he'd broken her heart or something.

This was sick. This was sick and twisted and wrong. She deserved the truth, and half of him was still upset that she apparently cared more about the Green Arrow than about Oliver.

THIS WAS SICK!

He gave up thinking in frustration and started working out, using kickboxing to take out his frustration. Punching, kicking, anything to take his mind off of her. Anything to stop thinking about the fact that every minute of every day he was lying to her. Every time she looked at him or thought about him--either of him--it was a lie and he hated himself for it.


	12. Chapter 12

--12--

The forced smile slid off of Oliver's face when he saw the expression on Chloe's. She looked white as a sheet.

"Are you all right?" he asked, more than a little concerned.

Chloe shook herself, clearly very distraught over something. "I--I'm fine," she said. "I just received some bad news that I've been dealing with all day, but it's nothing to worry about." She shrugged, playing off whatever it was coolly.

"Anything I can do?" he offered.

She shook her head. "I'll be fine. There's nothing I can do about it right this second."

He watched her with concern but she insisted that she was fine.

"Come on," she finally said, with a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I expect to be swept off my feet, here, Romeo."

Knowing that she wasn't going to tell him what was going on if she didn't want to, he gave in for the moment.

By the time they reached the club where the function was being held, she seemed to be herself again, and she smiled brightly at him.

"Aren't you going to tell me how much you love the dress?" she asked, backing up and turning slowly for him to fully appreciate the effect.

He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to the dance floor. "The dress is nice," he said, resting a hand on her lower back and taking her hand up in his other. "I'm more fond of the the girl wearing the dress," he winked and was rewarded with a blush.

"Careful, Oliver. Your sentimentality is showing," she grinned. "And you clean up pretty nicely yourself."

They danced a for a few more songs, before she intimated that she could use a drink. Oliver was forcibly reminded of the night he first saw her, when he turned to offer her a drink but she'd vanished. He grinned at the memory and she turned to see him staring at her.

"What?" she demanded self-consciously.

"Nothing. You're just cute," he said, kissing her forehead. They were approached by some of Oliver's colleagues, and Oliver was impressed by how well she handled herself. He supposed working in the business world had given her the networking skills, but it was something beyond that, too. She was just...charming. Everyone they came into contact with seemed to be dazzled by her smile (not to mention by how stunning she looked) and impressed by her wit and intelligence. She was incredible.

Toward the end of the night he asked her to dance with him again. "I'm getting tired of sharing you with everyone," he explained in her ear, smirking. It was true. Because it wasn't just business associates talking to them. More than one man had come over and introduced himself before realizing that Chloe was accompanied by an escort, and everyone who'd met them had given her a once over. It was getting irritating.

"Jealous, are we?"

"Maddeningly," he joked, putting his hands around her waist.

"Well I'm here with you, aren't I?" she pointed out. "Silly boy."

"Yeah you're here with me, but in case you haven't noticed, that doesn't seem to matter to everyone here," he said, leaning over to whisper it to her like some scandalous secret, tickling her ear with his breath. She giggled, but the sound faded when he pulled away slightly, his face still close to hers. His eyes went to her lips before going back to hers. He'd been so cautious with her, punishing himself for being so rash as the Green Arrow, but right now he didn't care.

She hadn't just given him a second chance, she'd given him at least half a dozen second chances in just the short amount of time they'd been getting to know each other, and he didn't even know why. Why waste her time on him? His hand slid to her neck, fingers tangling slightly in her hair. She wasn't running away. She was looking right back at him, almost as though patiently waiting for him to make up his mind.

There was still a problem, though. She still wasn't seeing him completely. She only knew a part of him, and it wasn't fair. He wanted to ask her to close her eyes again, like he had that night days before. He didn't like seeing those bright green eyes looking at him like she could see right through him, not when he knew he was keeping such a prevalent secret from her.

But he didn't stop. In that moment, all he cared about was the fact that she was with him, and in some way that meant that she had chosen him, at least part of him.

Slowly, deliberately, he closed the space between them, kissing her delicately. In spite of the expectant look on her face moment's before, he could actually feel the surprise spread through her when their lips met. It was a moment before she returned the kiss, her hands gripping his forearms for support.

When he pulled away there was an incredibly strange look on her face, not exactly what he'd been expecting.

Was she _frowning _at him? Her brow was furrowed in deep concentration and possibly confusion and her eyes were searching his intensely.

He had no idea what that meant. Was she angry he'd kissed her? Maybe he'd misread something somewhere, he thought wildly. Worst of all, maybe she was thinking of the Green Arrow. He couldn't recall ever kissing a girl and having her _frown_ at him...at least not like this.

He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but before he could, a speaker took the stage and claimed their attention. Chloe turned away from him wordlessly to listen. He watched her with his eyes as he turned his body toward the speaker as well.

Chloe seemed completely intent on what was being said. The explanation of exactly what the charity did as an organization, their goals for the coming year, and how much money they'd raised that night: she listened to all of it without once turning to look at him. But at the same time the small wrinkle between her brows remained in place.

When it was all over, she still didn't say anything, and Oliver was too much of a coward to ask. He took her home, and at the door, she did the strangest thing yet.

She turned to face him, and, brow still creased, she rose up on her toes and kissed him. He wouldn't have minded--actually, he rather enjoyed it--but there was something a little off about it at the same time, like she was trying to find something out by kissing him. Her lips were asking his some sort of question, but he didn't know what it was.

She pulled away. "Good night, Ollie," she said slowly, her eyes on his again.

He grinned in spit of his confusion. "Aw. You called me Ollie," he teased lightly, hoping to snap her out of it. But she only nodded, turning around to insert the key in her door.

She disappeared behind the door of her apartment, leaving him feeling extremely uncertain about what had happened that night. From the moment he'd picked her up, she'd been acting strangely. She'd looked almost frightened earlier...no, not even _almost_. She'd looked point blank afraid. And just now she'd looked so deep in thought he felt like he could actually see the wheels of her mind spinning and whirring at a rapid pace.

What was going on?

* * *

When Oliver got home, he found himself thinking. Too much. He had to stop worrying about what was going on with Chloe. Overanalyzing it was a chick thing to do.

He needed to get outside of himself. He knew he was breaking his problem to himself yet again, but he knew that in this moment, he didn't have to worry about the Green Arrow bothering Chloe. He needed to get his mind _away_ of her. He had a feeling the Green Arrow was probably never going to bother Chloe ever again. Not if it meant hearing the hurt in her voice.

And it was like he could feel the adrenaline building just holding the bow in his hand again.

It must have been fate. That was the only explanation for breaking his promise to himself a second time, he realized when his phone rang and Chloe was on the other end.

"OLLIE!" She screamed desperately. "HELP!"

He tried to ask what was wrong, but from the sound of it, the phone had been dropped and he got a dial tone.

Without hesitating, Oliver took a hairpin turn on his bike and sped into the night.

* * *

**Author's Comment: I actually felt really geeky writing that last line. "Sped into the night." But...I couldn't help myself. Hope you're excited! Because I definitely am! :)**

**B.S.S.**


	13. Chapter 13

--13--

**Author's Comment: Right...well, I just finished... And I'm--ahem--**_**blushing**_** right now...Enjoy this because I don't usually write this kind of thing.**

**P.S. I had a person or two point out that the last chapter's transition is a little off. That's because I inserted a ton of stuff forcing the entire last chapter into its own chapter (this was almost a 12 chapter project). I reread and agree the trans. is off, so I will go back in the near future to clean it up. Thanks for the heads up!**

* * *

_--Previously--_

Chloe kissed Oliver goodbye and shut the door behind her. She leaned against the door and tried to gather her thoughts.

_Oliver was the Green Arrow_.

It made complete sense. Of course, it also probably gave her the right to be very ticked off at him, but...she wasn't. She knew she should be. She just wasn't.

The more she thought about it, the more the pieces fell into place. The Green Arrow had been in the right places at the right time, often when she'd just had some sort of interaction with Oliver. He'd known her name, where she lived, and that she'd been seeing Oliver, but he claimed not to be spying on her. He'd said she'd never forgive him if she knew who he was, which had led her to believe there was another woman involved or something like that, but this fit, too. Stupidly enough, it just hadn't occurred to her that it was because she already _knew_ him.

Oliver was exactly the right build and height. He'd disappeared the other night after some police sirens had gone off and returned hot and sweaty. It explained his determination to form some kind of relationship with her in spite of how stubborn she'd been in the beginning. Even his remark earlier that day about taking time to find clarity just like her was a clue. Oliver being the Green Arrow explained the fact that she frequently caught him giving her strange looks, that she felt like he looked at her through two different pairs of eyes.

She realized her subconscious had been trying to tell her all along. The sleep depravation, the dreams about the Green Arrow (particularly the one about black kryptonite). She'd _known_ from the beginning.

It had been the kiss that had sealed the deal. Why didn't men realize that women could recognize a kiss? She and the Green Arrow hadn't just shared a quick peck on the lips. They'd kissed full on, eventually sleeping with each other. At this point, she could recognize a lot more than just his lips.

She remembered the way the Green Arrow had asked her to close her eyes, and that suddenly made sense to her as well. It all made perfect sense.

But she hadn't said anything. She wondered why, at first, but then she remembered what it was like with Clark in high school. She'd waited and hoped to the very last moment that he would confide in her on his own.

She wanted to win Oliver's trust in a way that she had been unable to win Clark's all those years ago. She would wait. If Oliver cared about her, he would tell her on his own.

Just as she reached this timely conclusion something came crashing through her window.

And it was beeping.

"Oh my god..." Chloe gasped, barely ascertaining that tear gas was going off as she fumbled for her cell phone. She turned to open the door before she heard footsteps thundering up the stairs. She backed away from the door, coughing from the gas, her eyes beginning to burn. She grabbed a towel from her kitchen to cover her nose and mouth with as Clark's phone rang. Then she raced to her bed to grab her gun, already feeling herself getting dizzy. Someone was trying to beat her door in.

Clark didn't pick up. She punched in Oliver's number, her heart thudding. He picked up on the first ring.

"OLIVER!" she cried as her door broke down to the onslaught. "HELP!" The phone dropped from her hands as a figure in a black ski mask rushed her and she fired the gun without aiming.

"Back off!" she yelled, holding the gun threateningly, her eyes still watering mercilessly from the gas, making it almost impossible to keep them open. Someone kicked the gun from her hands and then they had her by the throat. She felt herself slowly losing consciousness.

"Show us the list," a voice demanded from behind her.

Chloe could barely breathe, let alone speak, but the arm around her neck eased just enough for response. "What list?" she croaked.

"You keep a log of your freak cliental. Show it to us."

Chloe managed to send a burning glare in the direction of the man. "You can kill me first," she spat.

And it was at that moment that the Green Arrow came crashing through her window.

Her captor dropped her as an arrow went flying through his shoulder, and she fell to the floor, coughing before passing out.

* * *

When Chloe came to, the Green Arrow was kneeling beside her on the floor of her apartment, and something soft had been folded and placed under her head.

Then she blinked. Yes, it might be the Green Arrow sitting beside her, but it was also Oliver Queen. Hood thrown back and glasses on the bar of her kitchen, he was sitting there, watching her anxiously, a completely vulnerable expression on his face.

She laughed quietly. "Caught on have you?"

He looked confused, then understood. "You knew?"

She rolled her eyes. "You men are all the same. Always think you're so clever and mysterious. First Superman, now you."

He frowned. "How long have you known?" She raised an eyebrow, starting to sit up, but he pushed her back down. "Take it easy."

She huffed a sigh, irritated, but answered his question anyway. "I think I've known somewhere in the back of my brain for a while, but I realized it for certain when you kissed me tonight and it was far from being our first kiss." She raised her eyebrows at him and he looked sheepish. "Of course, the Green Arrow coming crashing through my window minutes after I hung up with Oliver more or less served as confirmation."

He changed the subject. "Would you like to explain why those guys attacked you?"

She looked around and noticed the absence of bodies. "Where--"

"Dropped them off as a little present for the fine police of Metropolis. Now explain."

"Not unless you let me up off the floor."

He sighed. "Compromise, then." He leaned over and placed her arms around his neck, lifting her up off the ground and bringing her over to her bedroom where he laid her cautiously on the bed.

She looked at him irritably. "I am perfectly fine. I only passed out from a lack of oxygen. No other injuries to ascertain, I promise."

"Yeah I'm sure the tear gas was nothing to worry about for the indestructible Chloe," he said sarcastically, but there was laughter in his eyes. "So explain," he said yet again.

She looked away from him evasively. "They were a hate group targeting the Isis Foundation. I...may have ignored a threatening phone call last night."

"What?"

"I get them all the time!" she protested. "This is the first time anyone's gone through with it!"

It was Oliver's turn to roll his eyes. "You're a walking death magnet, you know that?"

She glared. "Well at least I'm not schizophrenic like _some_ people I could mention."

He turned red. "Right. I'm--"

"Save it," she said, shaking her head. "If I were angry, one of us would have realized it by now. For whatever reason, my hand is not itching to slap you, whether or not it has perfect grounds to do so."

"So..."

"So," she said, sitting up in bed. "Apparently I have other things on my mind right now." She smirked at him, sliding a hand around his neck an into his hair, intimating what she meant. It had been less than a week, but he was all she'd dreamt about and she needed him.

Oliver leaned over and kissed her, and something had changed drastically between this kiss and the last. She could feel the glorious energy of triumph behind it, and she smiled against his lips. She pulled him toward her, forcing him away from the edge of the bed as she started to lie back down, guiding him on top of her without breaking awat from his lips.

"God, I missed you," she said breathily as a hand slid up her thigh, parting the long slit of her evening gown.

He chuckled. "I didn't technically go anywhere, you know."

She bit his lip lightly in response. "Liar. You know what I mean, anyway."

He suddenly pulled away. "Chloe..." there was a dark expression etched on his face.

"What?" she asked, brow furrowing in concern.

"I--" He stopped, evidently not sure how to continue. "This is a really awkward question, but who exactly are you..." He trailed off.

She frowned in confusion but then slowly she understood what he meant. She pulled him back down to her. "You--Not Oliver--Not the Green Arrow--Ollie" she told him, placing a kiss between each statement. And it was true. She knew he was worried that she was only in love with a part of him, but she wasn't. It was all of him, everything. The moment she'd realized that Oliver was the Green Arrow, they had ceased to be separate entities and he'd become Ollie to her, the one man encompassing everything.

"Chloe," he whispered huskily in her ear, causing her to shudder. He was so _good_ at that! His hands began removing her dress as he continued, "I'm so sorry I ever lied to you about any of this," his hand moved underneath her to lift her back away from the bed so that he could slide the dress down further and her breath hitched. "Thank you for understanding," he whispered, tossing the dress to the floor. His hands moved over her stomach and her head fell back, her eyes closing. She arched her back, pressing her breasts against his chest to encourage him in that direction, but he denied her. Instead his hands went to remove his vest, leaving her frustrated.

"Ollie," she groaned impatiently.

He chuckled silently.

He tossed the tunic to the floor and returned his hands to her thighs instead. He leaned down to kiss her stomach and butterflies fluttered inside of her as his mouth made its way higher, but much, much too slowly. His hands slid under her, squeezing her butt and causing her to emit an involuntary moan. She'd never realized how sensitive she was there until him. Then, as though he'd been waiting for her to be sufficiently distracted, he took one her breasts in his mouth. She released a moan of pleasure, hands rising from his back to thread in his hair.

* * *

Oliver was soaring. Euphoric. He wasn't sure there was a word for it. All he knew was that he'd never been happier in his life. Chloe writhed beneath him as he teased the peak of her breast with his tongue, hardening it. One of his hands rose to tend the other one. Chloe made the most arousing sound in the back of her throat that he'd ever heard in his life, and he practically growled in response.

"Ollie," she groaned in frustration, bucking her hips to tell him they were going too slowly for her. He smirked, releasing her breasts and lifting his body away from her again, propping himself on his forearms, just to look at her glorious form. Her eyes closed in ecstasy, her golden hair sprawled out on the pillow around her like a halo. He'd never seen anything more beautiful, nothing that even came close. She looked at him through hooded eyes and her hands came up to trace the muscles of his chest. Then her hands went lower, one of them running over his manhood before he could stop her.

His teeth clenched as she massaged him. "Chloe," he ground out in admonishment, finally grabbing her wrists and pinning them beside her head. "Hands to yourself," he commanded, placing a teasing kiss on her mouth before she could protest. She bucked her hips, grinding against him and forcing him to release her lips as he caught his breath.

She smirked, but he ignored her. His hands glided back down her body, enjoying every curve of it, every single inch of her. He hooked his fingers in the lace of her panties and dragged them down her body, tossing them to the floor with her dress. He brought his hands back up her legs, stopping so his fingers could latch under her knees and slowly pry her legs apart. He kissed the inside of her thigh softly, and looked up to see her head thrown back, her entire body arching away from the bed in need, and her hands clenching the pillow on either side of her. "Ollie," she whined. "So help me, if you don't _do _something, I'm going to change my mind about being angry with you."

He looked at her smugly, an eyebrow up. "Impatient are we?" he asked, brushing a finger lightly over her clit. She released an agonized moan, her hips bucking wildly. His hands moved to hold her down.

Her hand hooked around his neck and forced his head down to hers. In his ear she whispered hoarsely, "Ollie, we did slow. Harder and faster. _Now_." she commanded, biting his ear when she was through, and her very demand made him nearly lose control right then and there. He gave a chuckle that mixed with a cough as her fingers trailed down his body yet again to remove his pants. He leaned down to kiss her neck as she struggled.

Oliver thought about letting her have it her way, to just go ahead and give her what she wanted. The idea was more than tempting, and he badly wanted to give in, but he refrained. He wanted this moment to last as long as it possibly could. He wanted to have her like this for ever. Before she could go beyond ridding him of the rest of his clothing he reached down with his thumb to rub faint circles over her clit, his other hand continuing to hold her down. He closed his eyes, reveling in how incredibly hot and wet she was. Chloe thrashed beneath his ministrations, screaming his name. Then, when she was nearly to climax he stopped, pulling away. She let out a cry of frustration as he held her still, forcing her body into relaxation again.

The next moment his mouth had found her and Chloe screamed yet again. His tongue slid along her folds and she cried out for him, begging him, pleading with him. His tongue continued his finger's previous work and moments later he inserted a finger inside of her, pumping it in and out while her entire body jerked in response. He added another finger, moving them in and out of her more and more quickly. Again he brought her right to the brink only to pull away at the last second. He had to hold her down just to prevent her flipping them over and taking control.

"Did you want something?" he whispered mockingly in her ear.

She whimpered in response, barely coherent anymore.

"You have to tell me," he replied, his hands massaging her breasts now as her exhausted form gave in.

"Ollie," she moaned.

"Yes?" he asked, nibbling her ear.

"Please!" she begged in frustration. _"Please!"_

"Please what?"

"God!" she cried angrily, her body struggling against him again.

"Please what?" he repeated.

"Take me! Now!" she pleaded, nearly yelled as her entire body arched into the air.

"Look at me," he whispered, drawing his head back.

She forced her eyes open, locking hers with his, and he finally entered into her. Immediately her head went back again, and her eyes closed as she released a scream.

"Look at me!" he demanded a second time. He needed to look into her eyes, to have her look into him as he did this.

For the second time she forced herself to look at him, and it was what Oliver had been waiting for all this time, for her to see him. One of his hands cupped her face, holding it there, and he began to thrust in and out of her, slowly picking up speed until he was no longer in control of himself. He forced himself to hold on, to keep going until she climaxed. When she did it was the feeling of her convulsions, the way she tightened around him that sent Oliver over the edge in return. He continued thrusting, riding out her orgasm and his until she was reduced to a little more than a quivering form of exhaustion beneath him. Finally he collapsed beside her in fulfillment, and he rolled Chloe on top of his chest, both of them too spent to do anything but try to catch their breath.

* * *

It was later, in the early morning when it was still, after they'd come together a second and then a third time, that Oliver told Chloe he loved her. She thought she'd fall to pieces in his arms when he said the words. She didn't know how to respond. She kissed him, almost scared of him and of how much she cared about him in return.

"Don't hurt me," she said.

He frowned. "Never."

Chloe shook her head. "I'm serious. I've never cared about anyone who didn't leave me at some point. Even my best friends have all picked up and dropped me at one point or another.

He looked into her eyes before kissing her forehead, then her cheek, then her lips. "I was serious, too. Never."

She fit her head in the crook of his neck, eyes closing in contentment as she brushed her lips lightly against his flesh. "I love you, too," she whispered.

And she did. She knew she hadn't known him that long, not in the grand scheme of things, but in some ways it was like she'd known him all her life. Or maybe more that she had been waiting her whole life for him to come around. His arms tightened around her as though he would never let her go, and she prayed that he wouldn't.

After a lifetime of falling for the wrong men, of the wrong men falling for her, Chloe had found someone who could be a friend, her hero, and someone to love and be loved by.

She wondered vaguely when her life had taken this turn, and then she smiled to herself. It didn't really matter. What mattered was that he was there, and she knew every part of him. There were no secrets, no lies. There was nothing to be afraid of because she was in his arms.

* * *

Oliver could have died and gone to Heaven when she told him she loved him, too. No moment had ever been more perfect. No one had ever known him as entirely as she did, and she wasn't running for the hills. She was right there, letting him hold her. He promised himself silently that he would never let go.

* * *

**Author's Comment: It is finished!!! This has been quite fun to write, overall. Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback along the way. You made this a very rewarding project. **

**BlueSuedeShoes**

**P.S. I wrote an entire ending to this before deciding I wanted to take it in a steamier direction as opposed to a cute one. Give me a shout out if you'd like me to post the alternative final chapter.**


	14. Alternative Ending

**Author's Comment: Wow I've gotten so much love over the story! lol Thanks everyone. This is the alternative ending, which a few people said they'd like to see (and I probably would have posted anyway, I realized, because I hate letting things go to waste). Thanks again for all of the raves and helpful critiques.**

**BlueSuedeShoes**

**--Alternative Ending--**

Two days later, Chloe was still in a bit of shock. She'd woken up in a hospital after passing out in her apartment, and she could only assume that the Green Arrow--that Oliver--had brought her there. The hate group had been dropped off on the doorstep of the police station as a courtesy package. She'd tried to explain things to the police and Lois and Clark and Oliver about receiving empty threats all the time, but not one of them had spared her the lecture on not calling the police immediately.

As if she hadn't learned her lesson the instant the tear gas went off.

Clark had been miserable, evidently punishing himself relentlessly for not picking up his phone. It had been on silent because he was on a date with Lois.

"Never again," he promised.

Lois had been irate, taking her worry out on hospital staff whom she called "incompetent" at every turn. She'd been less furious with Chloe than she had been worried.

"You imagine coming home to a message on your machine that your cousin was attacked in her home by a group of terrorists and that she's lying in a hospital bed!" she'd yelled at no one in particular.

Oliver had given his brief lecture on not calling the police, and then sat and kept her company in silence. He'd been the one to drive her home from the hospital, Chloe all the while wishing he would 'fess up.

Even the Green Arrow had come for a visit. Apparently locking her window was no use against him, regardless.

She had pretended to be asleep, not letting on that she'd woken up to the sound of the window latch clicking open. He'd done nothing, just stood in her room watching her for what felt like hours. She could practically feel the anxiety in the air. She wished everyone would stop worrying about her. She'd been fine. But more than anything she wished Oliver would come clean.

* * *

It had been a week, an entire week since Oliver had driven her home from the hospital, and he was still wrestling with himself. She was still not explaining what had happened that night. Why she hadn't mentioned the death threat, for starters, or why she'd given him such a strange look at the end of the night.

As a matter of fact, she wasn't saying much of anything. She seemed to be waiting on _him_ to say something.

And somewhere in this process of internal battle, he suddenly found himself standing outside the door of her apartment, demanding to be let it. She'd calmly opened the door, an eyebrow raised, but without any expression of surprise whatsoever.

Once inside he began pacing back and forth, breathing heavily, his mind working at about a thousand miles an hour. Chloe said nothing, but sat down on a bar stool and watched him patiently.

He stopped finally, turning to look at her with determination etched on his face, but when he opened his mouth to speak nothing came out.

With a sound of frustration he began pacing again.

Chloe smiled.

He turned to her again, his mouth opening a second time.

"Yes, Ollie?" she asked, resting her chin on her hand and leaning against the counter.

He let out a long breath and Chloe pressed her lips together in entertainment.

"Would you like me to start?" she asked finally, deciding to cut him a break.

He stared at her a moment, then finally nodded in defeat.

"Okay. Assuming this is about your green leather fetish, then let me begin by saying that I already know."

He stared at her, dumbstruck.

The corner of her lip twitched.

"You...you...wait, what?" he stammered.

She sighed, shaking her head. "Why do men always think they're so clever? First Superman, now you." She rolled her eyes at the thought of Clark and his glasses.

He eyed her nervously. "How did you find out? And...shouldn't you be angry with me?"

Chloe stood. "I put a few puzzle pieces together, but I think the biggest clue was when you kissed me and it definitely was _not_ our first kiss." He looked at her sheepishly. "And, yes, I should be angry with you. You are an imbecile for several reasons right now, but for whatever reason, I really just don't care."

"You don't?"

She shook her head, walking over to him and putting her arms around his neck. "Nope. I'm just glad you managed to make it over here, even if you were still too much of a pansy to actually articulate the correct statements."

"Hey! I'm not a pansy. I just...can't form coherent sentences when I get worked up," he smiled down at her. Then something occurred to him. "Wait, are you telling me you figured it out purely because I kissed you?"

She nodded. "Well, that tipped me off. After that I realized it fit pretty perfectly, and when the Green Arrow came barreling into my apartment through my window not long after I called _you_ for help, that kind of confirmed it."

"And you're not angry with me?" he checked again, thinking it was too good to be true. "I didn't exactly handle this very well over all."

She grinned at him somewhat deviously. "Well," she said, pressing a little closer to him, "I'm not saying I wouldn't slap you if I could manage to get myself worked up, but I think you've more or less done your penance by saving my life the other night."

"You're incredible," was all he could say.

She tilted her head slightly, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I know."

His heart soared as she brought her lips to him and she wasn't kissing Oliver Queen or the Green Arrow. She was just kissing him.


End file.
